Russia to press for international internet behavior code to fight emerging threats

The new cyber security doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin outlines cyber attacks as a major threat to international security and suggests to fight it with a special international body to manage the web.

The document that was signed by the president last week had been
prepared by a panel of specialists from state agencies and
ministries, including the Ministries for Interior Affairs,
Defense, Justice and Communications, the Kommersant daily
reported. The newspaper also quoted its unnamed sources as saying
that the doctrine was prepared, at least partially, in reply to
the International Strategy for Cyberspace approved by the United
States in 2011.

The main threats mentioned in the doctrine were internet
technology as an “informational weapon used for
military-political, terrorist and criminal ends” as well as
attempts of “intervention into other nations’ internal
affairs”.

The last threat is Russia’s own input into the international
discussion over the issue. According to Kommersant’s sources, the
authorities focused on this problem after the Arab Spring events
that again demonstrated the potential of the internet and
especially the social networks in launching and directing mass
actions and street protests.

According to Kommersant’s sources, the Russian doctrine is much
more peaceful than the US strategy that equaled cyber attacks to
conventional warfare and declared the US military would react to
them accordingly, using all means, including nuclear weapons.

Moscow’s approach emphasizes the strengthening of international
cooperation and preventive regulative measures that would stop
the attacks from happening. The proposed measures include the
approval of the UN convention on international cyber security and
developing “internationally accepted rules of behavior in
cyber space”. Russia also wants to develop an international
system of managing the internet and impose an international law
that would “prevent the proliferation of the informational
weapons”.

The two latter initiatives replicate the earlier suggestions to
make the control of the world wide web accessible to all nations,
contrary to the current situation when it is managed mainly by
the US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN). The doctrine stresses that Moscow is not pursuing
tougher government intervention, but instead relies on a dialogue
and gradual developing of mutual trust.

The recently signed Russia-US bilateral agreement on prevention
of cyber-incidents developing into interstate conflict is
described as a typical example of such positive cooperation. Now
Russia intends to sign similar agreements with other
countries.

The Russian doctrine also states that the initial stages of
international cooperation should be started together with allied
nations – members of the CSTO and SCO as well as the BRICS
countries.

Russia’s top strategic body – the Security Council – and main
security agencies are now expected to provide the president with
their suggestions on particular measures to enforce the doctrine.